In UNC basketball’s matchup against Ole Miss, former ACC foe Sean Pedulla leads Rebels

It’s hard to say who’s the happiest guy in Milwaukee, North Carolina’s Seth Trimble or Jae’Lyn Withers.

Trimble is a given. He’s back home. He’s a former Mr. Basketball in the state of Wisconsin. His team is still alive and playing in the NCAA Tournament, UNC having blasted San Diego State in a First Four game and now facing Mississippi on Friday in the round of 64 at Fiserv Forum.

Withers? Most know what he went through after the most infamous free-throw lane violation in ACC Tournament history. It prevented the Tar Heels from going to overtime against No. 1 Duke in the tournament semifinals, a loss some believed might keep UNC out of the NCAAs this year.

Withers said Thursday he experienced a range of emotions Sunday as the Heels gathered to watch the NCAA Selection Show in Chapel Hill.

“I went from a lot of negative emotions to being skeptical to being very optimistic,” he said.

And then, early, there it was: “North Carolina/San Diego State.” The Heels had their chance and have made the most of it.

“Seeing our name up there gave us hope, and we ran away with that,” said Withers, happy to have the Heels get in, win and move on.

At the same time, there was another interested party watching the Selection Show, with a different rooting interest: Sean Pedulla.

Pedulla spent his first three years of college basketball at Virginia Tech. After last season, like many of his basketball peers, he decided to move on, enter the transfer portal, check out NIL packages, leave the ACC behind and seek a new place to play.

A place like Ole Miss, in the Southeastern Conference. Rebels coach Chris Beard was looking for a guard and Pedulla seemed a perfect fit, a proven shooter and reliable scorer.

So there he was last Sunday, with his teammates, watching the NCAA brackets go up — first cheering for “Ole Miss” and a beat later seeing “North Carolina/San Diego State” as the opponent.

The Tar Heels. The ACC. Again.

“It was cool, it was a little exciting,” Pedulla said Thursday. “A tournament game, March Madness, you never know who you’re going to play.”

The Rebels were matched up against Louisville in the ACC/SEC Challenge game this season and won, 86-63, as Pedulla had 16 points and seven assists. But this was UNC. Old-school ACC.

A year ago, in the Hokies’ loss to the Heels in Chapel Hill, Pedulla was 3-of-13 from the field, missed all four of his 3-pointers and scored 10 points. Guarding him, for the most part, was Trimble, as the Heels won, 96-81.

“He’s a really, really good athlete,” Pedulla said. “Plays really hard, good defender. He’s relentless, good in the open floor and getting out in transition, and his athleticism is definitely one of his best attributes.”

Pedulla, a 6-1 senior, is a quick-twitch shooter who always seemed to have the green light offensively from Virginia Tech coach Mike Young. He led the Hokies in scoring last season with 16.4 points a game, including a 33-point outburst against Clemson.

And this year, at Ole Miss under Beard?

“I think it’s just play the right way,” Pedulla said. “Obviously, coach has confidence in me, but that doesn’t mean I can have free reign and take whatever shot. It’s playing the right way for the team.”

Pedulla should be high on UNC’s scouting report. He leads the Rebels with 14.9 points a game, is shooting 38.8% on 3-pointers and had a season-high 29 points against Auburn when the Eagles were ranked No. 1.

“He is very efficient shooting the ball from 3,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said Thursday. “He can get to the basket. He has a great mid-range game. Pump fake. Can get to the free throw line.

“I talk to the team about elite players make routine plays routinely. That’s a perfect description of Sean. He just makes routine plays routinely. He’s tough. He’s competitive.”

Named third-team All-SEC, he also leads the Rebels in assists (3.6 a game) and steals (1.8). He has the ball in his hands a lot.

“He’s a very good, crafty guard who will get you in foul trouble if you’re not careful,” Trimble said. “Loves to shoot the 3. Very smart player. Knows how to lead the team.”

Trimble, asked if he looks forward to matching up against Pedulla one more time, quickly replied, “Absolutely. I love guarding great players.”

Pedulla said he was watching again Tuesday night as the Tar Heels, seeded No. 11, swept past San Diego State, 95-68. R.J. Davis nailed all six of his 3’s — UNC was 14-of-24 from the arc — in scoring 26 points, and Trimble had 16.

“They definitely came ready to play,” Pedulla said. “We’ll definitely have to be ready to go.”

While the Heels like the pace fast and faster, Pedulla said the Rebels, seeded No. 6, can adjust.

“I think we can play whatever pace helps us the most and gives us the best chance of winning,” he said. “There were games this year in our conference where we had to play faster and games we had to play slower.

“We know UNC likes to run. We’ll try to take that away from them and maybe slow them down a tad.”

This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 4:20 PM with the headline "In UNC basketball’s matchup against Ole Miss, former ACC foe Sean Pedulla leads Rebels."

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

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In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.